Back and Back Again
by MyLuckyStars
Summary: When Draco catches our trio sneaking around at night, he's intent to get them caught, but instead, they're all plunged into Hogwarts past where the encounter some familiar faces. WIP.
1. The Journal

AN: Ok, so here's all the usual stuff. This fic's got spoilers for HP 1-5, basically, if you haven't read the series and don't want it to be spoiled for you, I suggest you don't read this fic. Second, I don't own Harry Potter and all that goes along with it. This story is set in their sixth year, basically, taking up where the last book left off. With that said, here's the story!

* * *

"I can't believe we're doing this already." Hermione Granger's voice was hushed and strained as she, Ron Weasly, and Harry Potter crept down one of the many stone corridors in the castle that was home to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. "We've only been back for a few hours and already we're sneaking around."

"You didn't have to come." Harry replied bluntly. It was already taking quite a bit of concentration to keep his invisibility cloak covering the three of them, and he wasn't in the mood to be pestered by Hermione. "I've been waiting a month to get back here and find this. I'm not going to wait any longer. Besides, what makes sneaking around tomorrow any less risky that sneaking around tonight?"

Hermione made an annoyed clicking noise, but didn't say anything.

"At least none of the teachers will probably be expecting it." Ron said. "Ouch! _Harry_, remember, you're three times as wide when we do this." They had turned a corner to closely, and as Ron was hopping on one foot, Harry decided he must have stubbed his toe on the edge of the corner.

"Sorry." Harry mumbled. His mind was preoccupied by his summer. It had been a long stay at the Dursley's, full of grief over Sirius. Dumbledore had told Harry he would be able to come to #12 Grimund Place on his birthday. In retrospect, Harry was almost glad he had been at the Dursley's for a while. After the Order members had given their ultimatum, Harry had been ignored by the Dursleys, but he had still received three square meals and some peace and quiet, and for the time, that was all he could ask for. As much as he loved Hermione and Ron, he had needed time to work things out. During that two months he had been able to heal enough to at least face the school when the time came.

- - - -

On his return to Grimund Place, Dumbledore informed him that Sirius had named him the sole benefactor of the Black fortune. Everything was his, except that the home was to belong to the Order until Harry graduated from school. Standing in the entrence hall of his godfathers home, Harry realized he could care less for the fortune, except that it reminded him that Sirius had clearly thought of Harry as his only family, and while Harry had felt the same, his closest thing to flesh and blood family was now gone. The news did however, jar something in Harry's mind that he hadn't given much thought to in a while.

"Professor, I know my parent's house was destroyed, but what about my grandparents home? Sirius told me he used to stay there sometimes."

"Yes, your grandparents house does still stand." Dumbledore said. "Your father and mother lived there for a short time after they inherited it when your grandparents died. When they needed to go into hiding from Voldermort, they chose to move into something less known."

"So it's mine then?" Harry said, it wasn't really a question, and once the words had left his mouth, he felt they sounded cold and greedy. "I mean, it doesn't belong to anyone else?"

"Yes Harry it is yours." Dumbledore smiled, as if to say he hadn't thought the question to be out of line. "You did inherit everything your parents owned. That combined with what Sirius left you amounts to quite a bit. I think you would be rather amused to see what, other than money, is now in your possession. Between your father's and Sirius's exploits over the years, they managed to acquire some interesting items." He gave Harry another knowing smile.

Harry had never really given the subject much thought. The trip to Gringots his first year had left his head spinning, that coupled with the disappointing news of returning to the Dursley's every summer after had distracted him from dwelling on it.

"As I'm sure you've guessed by now," Dumbledore continued, "I neglected to remind you that you owned the house because you needed to return to the home of a blood relative every summer." He smiled weakly, and Harry got the feeling that the Headmaster was waiting for him to explode at the news. However, after everything that had happened, Harry just didn't have any desire to be angry with Dumbledore. Harry felt Dumbledore was the closest person to understanding what he was feeling. Besides, if he had thought about the house, it would have made living with the Dursleys that much more undesirable.

"Sir, I don't suppose you'd let me visit the place?" Dumbledore gave him a searching look and Harry rushed to continue. "I just want to have a quick look around is all. You can send Professor Lupin and Tonks and Moody..." Harry's voice trailed off. He was rather sure Dumbledore wouldn't let him, last year they had been nervous taking him to King's Cross, let alone an unnecessary venture out into London.

"Harry, you may go." Dumbledore said, "I'll take you tomorrow." Harry was so surprised that he merely gapped at the man, his mouth flapping open and closed. "After not telling you about it for five years, I feel that I owe it to you." Harry nodded, it was clear that Dumbledore was still pained by what had happened last year and he had a feeling the Headmaster was trying to make it up to him. "I need to leave now." Dumbledore continued, "But I'll be back tomorrow and we can visit your grandparent's home."

- - - -

The house was not what Harry would have expected. It was located in a residential area of London, surrounded by middle class flats and when Dumbledore led him into a grassy lot in between buildings, the surrounding apartments seemed to melt away to reveal a well kept garden. They walked through an iron arch covered with years of ivy growth and the house came into view. It was rather large and made of stone and was covered in moss in some places. It had clearly been there for a couple hundred years. There were two turrets and the building consisted of three stories.

"Who's been taking care of it?" Harry asked. Even though no one had lived in it for sixteen years, it still was in good condition.

"There are a couple of house elves that have been tending to it."

Harry nodded. It all made sense, but his heart was hammering in his chest at the thought of what he might find inside. Aside from the invisibility cloak, he had never laid hands on anything that belonged to either of his parents.

Once inside however, he could feel the desertion. The home was still furnished, but all the personal touches seemed to be missing. It only caused the air of vacancy to lay even heavier.

As they stood in the foyer, Harry noticed there was a small table with a vase sitting on it. It was void of fresh flowers, as Harry suspected it had once been filled with. It set the tone, dead and gone. Off to his left was a staircase that led upstairs. The banister was made of expertly carved mahogany wood and was polished to a high gloss. The whole house seemed to be wrapped in rich, warm colors and the areas that Harry could see, had wainscoting and wood floors.

"I'll wait here." Dumbledore's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Go ahead and have a look around."

He nodded shortly and headed up the stairs. The rest of the home was decorated similarly to the foyer but for a while, all the found were several empty rooms. Finally, he found a large library with windows that let in bars of light. He stepped into the room and noticed a painting hanging on one of the walls. It was a portrait of the Potter family. Harry instantly recognized his father, as it was like looking into a mirror with subtle faults in it's reflection. The painting had clearly been done when his father was around the same age as Harry was now.

Standing behind James, where Harry's grandparents. His grandfather had long black hair that hung sleekly past his elbows and half moon glasses like Dumbledore's that were perched on his nose. His grandmother had deep brown hair, with an almost red undertone, and it hung in glistening curls that formed a halo around her face. His family waved merrily at him.

"Harry, Dumbledore said you would be visiting." The painting of his father said. "There is a book in this library that your father left for you. I may be just his painting, but I know he wanted you to have it before you finished with school at Hogwarts."

Harry gave the painting a quizzical look. "What sort of book is it?"

"I don't know." The painting of James replied. "But it's located in the HP section, for your initials of course."

"Well, er, thank you." He found it strange holding a conversation with a portrait of his father, mostly because he had never known the real man and speaking with his portrait left him feeling hallow. Harry proceeded to the HP section, there were only three books there, and he pulled them down. On was a book on charms that supposedly only worked on days that were Tuesday, the 25th, and there was a full moon. The other was a book on magical trees of India. The final book had a blank, leather bound cover. Harry replaced the other two books, and opened the cover of the third. His heart skipped a beat as he noticed an inscription written on a sheet of paper placed in the front of the book. It read:

_This book is for my son Harry. I hate to think it, but with the situation now being as bad as it is, I am faced with the real possibility that your mother and I might not live to see you grow up. She would be incredibly angry with me if she knew I was talking to you like this. If this bleak possibility is to be our future, then there are many things about Hogwarts that I wanted to share with you. If I can't do it in person, then I'll leave this written account. This is my journal from my years at school. If we never do get the chance to tell you this, I want you to know that your Mother and I love you very much and can only hope the best for you._

Harry wasn't sure exactly how to take the letter. He read through it a couple more times before carefully folding the scrap of paper and placing it in his pocket. He leafed through the journal and saw that ever page was coated with writing almost as small and neat as Hermione's. After a few minutes, he snapped it shut and started to move through the house again, the book still with him.

About forty-five minutes later, he returned to the foyer to find Dumbledore still calmly waiting. Harry wondered how long he could have been gone before the Headmaster would have told him it was time to go. It didn't matter, he felt there was nothing else to see. Dumbledore noticed he was carrying the book, but he didn't comment. However, Harry was sure he saw the man smile at the journal.

"Are you ready?" Dumbledore asked. Harry nodded and they returned to Grimund Place.

- - - -

He avoided Ron and Hermione, and headed strait for his room to start reading. Harry was planning on sharing the book with them, but for now, he wanted to read in solace.

The journal wasn't all that thick, his father had only written in it sporadically. Most of it was a commentary on his classes and what school was like. Harry got the feeling that his father had intended to give it to him when he went off as a first year, so that it could act as a head start of a sort. However, when he reached the last few pages, his father had listed secret passageways and short cuts throughout the castle. Harry wondered if his father would have been disappointed to know that his son had learned about ever passage he was mentioning before he had personally gotten to tell him. Then, of course, his father didn't get a change to do anything with him. And now, Sirius was gone also.

A wave of grief washed over Harry and he was forcibly reminded of the dreams he had been having during the summer. They were much like his dreams about Cedric the previous summer, but now, he dreamt about Sirius falling through the veil. More often than not, he dreamt that he was the one pushing Sirius through, his godfather looking back at him in shock. Dumbledore had promised to teach Harry Occlumency this year, so for now, he endured the dreams, hoping to learn to block them in the near future.

There was however, one spot listed on the places of interest that Harry had never heard of. His father described it as being a crawl space that led to a small room. It was located down in the dungeons and although Harry had only recalled going through the corridor a couple times, he knew where his father was talking about.

His father continued on to say that he had found it a good place to work undisturbed and Harry smiled at that, sure that he meant that it had been a good place for his practice towards becoming an Animagus.

For the rest of the summer, Harry felt he couldn't wait to visit the room his father had described. He had told Hermione and Ron that he would be visiting it, as soon as he got a chance. Ron had agreed the instant Harry had proposed the idea, but Hermione had seemed to be on the verge of trying to talk him out of it. Ultimately, she gave in, but now, back at Hogwarts, she seemed to be regretting the decision...

"Listen Hermione, we're almost there." Harry felt bad about snapping at her earlier, after all he was grateful for their support. Somehow, after losing Sirius, he realized how important they were to him. He could feel her head moving in a nod under the cloak, but she didn't say anything.

Creeping through the dungeons had them all on edge. Not only were they not supposed to be out, but being so close to the Slytherin common room and Snape's office made it feel like they were moving through enemy territory. Finally, they reached their destination.

His father had described it as being a stone in the east side of the passage, between a threadbare tapestry and a rusty mace hanging on the wall. There was supposed to be a stone

who's top left corner had a large chunk missing.

"We have to try to pull that out?" Ron breathed, looking at the stone which was about two feet up on the wall. "That thing must weigh a ton!" Harry was inclined to agree, the stone was about two feet in width and a foot an a half in height.

"It has to be possible to move." Hermione said, "If your father was able to move it with the help of the other three."

"Do you suppose they levitated it?" Harry asked.

"Maybe," Hermione replied, "but it'll be tricky to try to move out of the wall. If we can pull it out a bit, it would be easier to get a magical 'grip' of a sort."

"We're going to have to take the cloak off to manage that." Harry said. "Let's hope Snape or Filch doesn't decide to take a late night stroll through the dungeons." He cringed at that thought and Ron made a short laugh that sounded more like a gag. They stepped out from under the cloak and it hung from Harry's neck, making it look like his head and arms were floating in mid air.

They all tried to wedge their fingers into the space around the block and pull it out. To their surprise, it easily slid out a couple inches and moved to the right, hovering in mid air. A dark tunnel was revealed, and the smell of musty, dank, air flooded into the passageway.

"Well, that would be what you were looking then, wouldn't it Harry?" Ron sounded like he wasn't relishing crawling into a pitch black tunnel with no idea what was on the other end.

Harry nodded, but he had a frown on his lips. As much as he wanted to learn more about his father, doubt was crawling into his mind. His father had never mentioned how far the crawl space went for. What if it had collapsed, or some other damage had occurred to it?

How far in do you think it goes?" Hermione asked. She didn't really sound like she wanted to hear the answer. Harry wasn't all that surprised. Over the years, they had discovered several passages and tunnels that led to the bowels of the school. "And," she continued, "that looks like a really tight squeeze."

"It opens up quite a bit just inside." Ron had lit his wand, and his head was just inside the tunnel. "It actually looks large enough to crawl."

Harry turned to the other two, frowning. "I've got to check this out," he told them, "on the chance that my dad might have left something in there. I'll understand if you guys want to go back. You can take the cloak."

"I'm coming with you." Ron said, shaking his head. "I'm not going to leave you alone in the dungeons." Hermione nodded in agreement.

Harry was forcefully reminded of the previous year, when Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Nevill, and Luna had refused to let Harry try to save Sirius on his own. While he had been incredibly angry with them at the time, their loyalty meant so much to him that he didn't know if he would ever be able to properly voice it.

Harry nodded curtly. "Right, I'll go first." He lit his wand and crawled into the passage. As Ron had suggested, it did open up quite a bit once you were past the first stone. He could hear Ron climbing in behind him, and then Hermione. They moved along in silence, the glow of his friend's wands registering in his peripheral vision.

"Um," Hermione's voice broke the silence, "our exit just resealed it's self, so we'd better hope it responds from pressure on this side also."

"It should," Harry replied, "or at least it'd better."

"There you go Harry, way to tell the castle who's boss." Ron said with a laugh.

They continued on for about ten minutes, the tunnel twisting and turning every now and then. It seemed to be slanting downward, until finally, his wand light started to spill into what he saw was a rather large room. As they climbed out into the open, several torches along the walls flared to life.

Momentarily startled, Harry spun around, but there were nobody waiting for them. The room was about the size of the Gryffindor common room, and there were no windows, doors, or fireplaces, no means of access other than the tunnel they had just crawled through.

In the middle of the room sat a rather large wooden table which was surrounded by half a dozen chairs. An empty bookshelf stood against the wall opposite them, and on the wall hung an empty picture frame. It's canvas was missing, revealing the stone of the wall it was hanging on.

What do you suppose that was for?" Ron asked, gesturing to the empty frame.

"Since the people in the paintings can move from canvas to canvas, throughout the castle, maybe they used to bring a painting who's inhabitant would stand guard." Hermione suggested.

"Course, once you're in here, there's not really anywhere to hide is there?" Ron glanced around the sparse room.

"No," Harry said, distantly, "not really anything here at all." He didn't know if he had really been expecting to find anything in particular, but he had been hoping to find _something_.

"Well, I would say we could use it for DA." Hermione said glancing around the room. "But now that Umbridge's gone, we don't have to work in secret anymore." On the train to Hogwarts, they had been approached by no less than fifteen students asking if Harry would still teach DA.

Harry started to slowly make his way around the room, hoping there was something hidden somewhere.

"Hope that new professor, what did Dumbledore say her name was? Reckwall?" Ron frowned and Hermione corrected him.

"Professor Miranda Rockwell." she said with an exasperated shake of her head. "If you would just _listen_ for once-"

"Hope she doesn't resent the DA like Umbridge did." Ron finished.

"Well Umbridge was a bit out of her mind wasn't she?" Harry said from across the room. He had already checked every shelf on the book case, and was now looking behind the empty frame.

"Dumbledore should have made you the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor." Ron smiled to himself at the prospect. "You could have given me an automatic A and flunked all the Slytherins."

Hermione clicked her tongue irritably. "That would never happen. The ministry wouldn't allow it."

"I know _that_," Ron replied defensively, "but I can dream."

Harry sighed as he slumped into a chair. It appeared that the room was indeed deserted. Then something glittered slightly from under the table. He crouched down to get a closer look and realized it was a gold coin. At first, Harry thought it was a galleon, but when he picked it up and rubbed the layer of dust off of it, he realized it was something quite different.

"What's that?" Hermione and Ron had come around the table to where Harry was sitting, and had noticed the coin.

"I don't know." Harry said, shaking his head. The symbol stamped on it wasn't one he had ever seen before. It was a jumbled collection of letters that made up a star shape.

"Weird," Ron said. "what's on the other side?" Harry turned over the coin and they all fell silent. The symbol on that side was clear to all of them.

There was a hoof print that took up most of the coin. Inside of it was a large paw print, and inside of that was a somewhat smaller paw print. Finally, inside that was the smallest print of all, a rat print.

"Do you suppose your dad left that here on purpose?" Ron asked.

"Dunno," Harry replied, still studying the coin.

"Harry, I think we should go." Hermione had just glanced at her watch. "We'll be a lot safer studying that in the common room rather than in here."

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "You're right. I'll go first." They lit their wands again, and crawled into the passage. Harry was still clutching the coin, feeling the cold metal grow warmer in his palm. They had reached the end of the tunnel and Harry had just given the stone a hard shove and was half way out of the opening when he heard Hermione cry out.

"No Harry, Malfoy's out there!" His heart sunk, she had the Marauder's Map. He had no idea why she hadn't warned him earlier, she should have been able to see Malfoy before they exited the tunnel, but it was to late now.

Draco Malfoy emerged from the shadows of the corridor, a smug grin on his face. "I can't see you Potter, but I can certainly hear Granger's whiney voice so I'll assume she's merely along for the ride."

Harry could have easily slipped away wearing the cloak. Malfoy had no prof he had ever been there, but he wouldn't leave his friends to get in trouble, so he lowered his hood, glaring daggers at him. "Get lost Malfoy." He hissed. Behind Harry, Ron was starting to climb out of the opening, no doubt sensing a fight was about to occur.

"My, my," Draco chuckled. "Three students out of bed and deep in the dungeons." He said with a smirk. "Two of them prefects no less. I'm sure Professor Snape would be most interested in this."

"Which means we've just as much a right to be out as you do." Hermione said, her head sticking out of the tunnel. She started to climb out into the passage, but the hem of her robe caught and she was plunging head first to the stone floor. Harry and Ron lunged forward, trying to catch her. They all landed in a heap on the floor, and something on a long, gold, chain slipped up and out of Hermione's robes.

Harry recognized it instantly as a time turner. The small hour glass seemed to float through the air, Harry's quick eyes tracked it as it smashed against the wall. There was a roar of rushing wind, and a large fisher opened up in the stone floor. Glaring yellow light emanated from the opening, and all four Hogwarts students stared at it, thunderstruck.

The gold coin Harry had been grasping, slipped from his fingers and rolled along the ground, dropping into the fisher. The yellow light changed to a deep purple, and the gash in the floor started to grow. The corridor shook and chunks of the stone floor fell away. Dust filtered down from the ceiling and Harry was sure the noise was waking the whole castle.

They were trying to scramble away from the hole, but the floor was falling away to quickly. With a sudden lurch, the chunk underneath them dropped out. Hermione let out a shriek and then they where falling.

* * *

So ends chapter one. I'm already well into completeing chapter two, I promise! Please r&r and let me know what you think!


	2. Changes

Alrighty everybody! Here's chapter two. I don't own any of these characters so don't sue me, yada yada...

* * *

Harry woke with stiffness aching all through his body, and half of his face was numb from being pressed against the cold stone floor. He sat up and blinked several times. The corridor was filled with chunks of stone and everything was coated with a layer of dust, but other than that, there was no evidence of the gaping hole that had been present earlier. 

He spotted three still forms on the ground, their Hogwarts robes covered in dust. There was a soft groan, and one of the figures started to stir. Draco Malfoy sat up and squinted through the darkness. When he spotted Harry, a sneer set in on his face.

"What did you do Potter?" He demanded. As he stood up, he grimaced, clearly feeling about as good as Harry did.

"I didn't do anything." Harry shot back as he went over to help Hermione and Ron. They to were sitting up, and he offered each of them a hand.

"What happened?" Hermione said, trying to brush her self off.

"Clearly, you almost destroyed half the dungeon." Malfoy drawled, dust filtering through his white blond hair.

"No, that's what I mean." Hermione said, shaking her head. "Where did that big hole disappear to? There's all sorts of dust and debris, but underneath it all. The corridor seems to be in perfect condition." She narrowed her eyes, trying to make sense of the situation. "It's almost as if we fell through the corridor, into the _corridor_..." Suddenly, her eyes went wide. "Oh no!" she whispered harshly under her breath.

"What's the matter Granger?" Malfoy sneered, "Did you realize how much trouble you're going to be in?"

"Stop it Malfoy!" Ron said, stepping closer to Draco. "What makes you think you're not going to be in just as much trouble as we are?" Trough all the arguing, they didn't notice anybody approach until Professor McGonagall's stern voice rang through the dungeon corridor. "_What_ is going on here?" Even though he knew they were all in serious trouble, Harry took some satisfaction in watching Malfoy's face go from pale to paler. No doubt, he had been counting on Professor Snape finding them.

Harry's mind was trying to grasp onto some sort of plausible excuse, but none came. "Professor, I'm sorry, I know we're not supposed to be down here."

He was waiting for her to start in on how disappointed she was in Gryffindor, but instead, she said, "Potter, what are you doing with these people?"

That was about the last thing he had suspected her to say, and for a second, he didn't know what to say. "Well, uh, I mean I know we normally aren't with Malfoy, but..." He trailed off, still not really understanding what McGonagall was getting at.

"Harry," Hermione said, "she doesn't know who we are. The time turner, it-"

McGonagall cut her off. "Harry?" She sounded puzzled. "What do you mean you're name's Harry?" She moved closer than gasped. Harry had rarely seen McGonagall so rattled, but she was now. Her eyes looked into his and then they lingered on his scar. Her eyes narrowed and she drew her wand. "I'm taking you all to see professor Dumbledore." She said simply, in a voice that made it quite clear that they weren't to argue. She gestured for them to start up the corridor and then followed behind them.

Harry found it a rather odd feeling to be marched at wand point by Professor McGonagall. At every intersection, she would tell them which way to turn, but of course, they all knew their way to the Head's office.

"I don't get it." Ron whispered, worry filling his voice. "What's wrong with Professor McGonagall?"

"Don't you understand Weasel King?" Malfoy snapped. "Granger's gotten herself a time turner and you idiots managed to break it. Thanks to your stupidity, we're lost somewhere in time."

"Don't call me that." Ron fumed.

"What, stupid?" Malfoy said with a grin.

"Leave him alone." Harry growled. As much as he hated to admit it however, he was impressed that Malfoy had been able to figure out what had happened. They had reached the stone gargoyles that guarded Dumbledore's office, and McGonagall was glaring at them suspiciously. She gave the proper password, and the gargoyles leapt aside, allowing them admittance.

When the reached the office it self, Harry found that it was hardly any different from the times he had visited it. Dumbledore to looked essentially the same. He had an air of being somewhat younger, but still possessed the long silver beard and half moon glasses.

The Headmaster didn't demand to know what was going on, or who they were. Clearly, he already was aware of the situation. This only served to strengthen Harry's belief that little to nothing happened at Hogwarts without Albus Dumbledore knowing about it.

He studied each of them carefully, and like McGonagall, his gaze lingered on Harry's scar for a couple seconds. "Where did you come from?" His voice was calm, but commanded authority. Harry had a feeling the professor already knew that they had been in an accident with a time turner.

"We're Hogwarts students." Hermione said. "Professor, I was wearing a time turner for scholastic reasons when I tripped and fell. It broke, and a portal opened in the floor. We all fell through and ended up back at Hogwarts roughly twenty-three years in the past."

Dumbledore was studying her closely and his eyes narrowed slightly. "And how have you come up with that number?"

"Well sir, Professor McGonagall confused Harry for his father, James."

"And a rather striking family resemblance it is." Dumbledore said, again giving Harry a searching look. Meanwhile, Harry had become somewhat detached from what was going on around him. For nearly his entire life, his parents had been gone. Now to think that they could be mere feet away, his mind was churning at the prospect.

"Are we stuck here?" Ron's voice broke Harry's concentration. He sounded worried. "I've heard of all sorts of horrible things that happen to people who have messed with time."

"I am aware of a couple of cases in which a wearer's time turner has broken." Dumbledore folded his hands on the desktop, and Harry noticed that the occupants of the paintings of former headmasters were intently listening to the conversation that was transpiring. Harry supposed they had been witness to some rather interesting things over the years. "Evidently, what happens," Dumbledore continued, "is the fracturing of the time turner causes time its self to fracture. Anybody who happens to enter this fractured past enters a timeline that is independent from the future. It's like taking a fork off the main road."

"Are you saying that what we do here won't cause any damage to the future if the time turner is fixed?" Malfoy had remained quiet up to this point, occasionally shooting daggers at Harry. His eyes now gleamed at the prospect of causing mayhem without being held responsible for it.

"Technically, but you could argue that first hand knowledge of a past that isn't yours could upset the flow of time."

"So the time turner can be repaired and we can leave?" Hermione asked. It seemed to Harry that she looked nervous about being in the past. He suspected it was due to all the warnings she had received in order to be able to have the device. Harry had experienced fist hand how seriously she took the rules. Back in their third year, he and Hermione had gone back a couple hours in order to save Sirius and Buckbeak. However, this trip to some twenty odd years in the past made their rescue mission seem like a simple field trip. No doubt Hermione was already sure their presence here was shattering their future even as they spoke.

"In the rare cases of this happening, gathering all the pieces of the time turner and repairing them have caused the splintered line to snap back in place. As far as anyone's been able to tell, none of the events on the splintered line have affected the proper future."

"How long do you think it will take to fix it?" Hermione removed the long chain from around her neck. Harry could see that most of the glass still remained, but all the sand had dumped out. She placed it on Dumbledore's desk, and he gave it an appraising look.

"We'll have to gather up all the remaining pieces of the time turner." Dumbledore said, leaning back in his chair. "I'll contact Mr. Filch and we'll close down the corridor. I suspect it will take some rather complicated spell work to collect every grain of sand, and we'll have to be very careful. The sand used in a time turner's hourglass can react vocatively with magic. Off the top of my head, I would suspect it will take a week at the least."

A week? Harry's heart leapt with excitement. He knew he shouldn't be glad, but if they would be at Hogwarts, this Hogwarts, for a week, perhaps he would get a chance to see his parents in person, not to mention Sirius being here as well. Harry had witnessed his father act like a jerk back when he was in Snape's memory in the Pensive. Though Sirius and Lupin had assured Harry that his father wasn't a bad person, this would be a chance to gage his father's behavior in person.

"And what exactly are we supposed to do for a week?" Malfoy asked. "Are you going to make us stay out of sight for the entire time so we don't do any contaminating?" He looked as if he was sick to his stomach at the prospect of spending a week or more only keeping company with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"I don't think so." Dumbledore said. "It has been in my experience that if you try to hide something in this castle, it's more likely to be found than otherwise. In fact," He said with a smile, "I'm sure rumors about four strangers are already well on their way to being spread. We'll find a place for you to stay and tomorrow, I'll tell the students that you are temporarily visiting Hogwarts."

Ron groaned. "We traveled twenty-three years into the past, and we still have to go to classes."

Dumbledore chuckled at that. "I can't let you leave the school because I have no way of knowing when the time turner will be fixed, what else would you recommend you do?"

Ron grumbled under his breath, but didn't say anything else.

"If you're arranging places for us to stay," Draco said, "I'm a Slytherin. I'd rather stay there then with them."

Dumbledore frowned. "You won't be staying in any of the houses. We have dormitories that have been used during the Triwizard Tournaments in the past. They should be sufficient."

Malfoy looked like he wanted to say something, but decided against it. "Yes professor." He muttered.

"Well I don't think any of us were ever properly introduced, you all know my name, but I don't know yours."

"You've probably guessed mine, but anyway, I'm Harry Potter."

"Hermione Granger."

"Ron Weasly."

"Draco Malfoy."

"I'm glad to meet you all." Dumbledore said. "Professor McGonagall will take you to your dormitory. We'll arrange to have school supplies and the likes sent up to you for tomorrow. There's just one last thing before you head off." Harry wondered what it could be, and then he realized that Dumbledore was giving him a pointed look. "Mr. Potter, due to genetics, you look quite a bit like your father. Would you be opposed to letting me alter your appearance?"

The question had caught Harry off guard, but he knew what Dumbledore meant. His last name would probably draw him enough attention, he didn't need to look like his father on top of it. If he did, he was sure people would start to wonder who they really where.

"Um, what exactly did you have in mind?" He would never have imagined he'd receive a makeover offer from the only man Voldermort feared.

"I think changing your hair is all that's in order. Your eyes are already a different color and you'd be surprised how much of a change hair color can make."

If all he was going to change was his hair, then that wasn't so bad. "Alright, but I'll warn you sir. My aunt used to try to give me haircuts as a kid, and it always grew back overnight. It seems to have a mind of it's own."

"And all this time, I thought you were simply making a fashion statement." Harry didn't rise to Malfoy's bait, but he did glare back at him never the less.

Dumbledore had gotten up from his desk and came around to stand in front of Harry. He said an incantation Harry had never heard before and then there was the gentle weight of longer hair on his shoulders. "Professor McGonagall will take you to your rooms now, I'll see you again at breakfast." Dumbledore returned to his seat and McGonagall led them out of his office. Harry had never wanted a mirror so badly in his entire life.

Hermione and Ron were avoiding his gaze as they made their way through the dark castle and it was making Harry incredibly self-conscious. On the other hand, Malfoy was wearing an oddly satisfied smirk.

A couple of times, Harry was tempted to grab a hunk of the now long hair and see what Dumbledore had done to it, but that would have satisfied Malfoy. Harry could tell that Draco was enjoying having Harry be in the dark on his own appearance. He tried to catch a glimpse of it out of the corner of his eye, but the torchlight of the castle corridors didn't allow him to see much. It was definitely a different color, but he couldn't tell much more than that.

McGonagall finally stopped them at a portrait hanging in one of the corridors just off the main entrance to the castle. The portrait's occupant was snoozing in a plush, green, armchair. His long bushy moustache fluttered with each exhaled breath. The caption under the portrait read _Sr. Marco Gonzales_.

"Senor Gonzales." McGonagall addressed the portrait. He woke with a start and blinked at them.

"Professor McGonagall, how can I be of service?"

"These four students will be living here for an undetermined time. You will need to create a password and admit them entrance."

"Very well." He said studying each of them in turn. "The password is _vanilla custard_." Like the painting of the Fat Lady, which guarded Gryffindor tower, Senor Gonzales swung open and revealed an opening for them to climb through.

Once inside, they could see that there was a short hallway with a vaulted ceiling. Four doors were along the way, two on each side, but they were spaced rather far apart. Beyond, they could make out a common room with a fireplace and black armchairs.

"As Professor Dumbledore mentioned, this has been used in the past to house students participating in the Triwizard Tournament. Since there's hardly ever the same number of students from year to year, this portion of the castle utilizes movable walls, to create as many rooms as needed. With only four of you, you will each have your own rather sizable room and bath."

"Well, we're getting the five star treatment." Malfoy drawled. "How do I ring for my personal servant?"

"I doubt the Hogwarts of your time is much different from the Hogwarts of now, so you're all expected to follow the rules and guidelines along with the rest of the students." She gave Malfoy a pointed look. "I will be your acting House Head. Supplies have been provided for you and are in your rooms. If you should require anything else, let me know. Now, it's rather late, I suggest you all get some sleep." With that, she turned on her heal and left. Once the portrait had swung shut, Malfoy turned on them.

"Well I'd like to thank you." He sneered. "I've been simply _praying_ for this, a chance to hang out with the Dunder Team. All my dreams have come true. But I'm sure you're ecstatic Potter, a chance to terrorize the school with your father, and Dumbledore's chosen to make you into a mini version of himself." Draco walked over to the door with a gold DM stamped onto it and disappeared into his room.

"Wow," Ron breathed, "The rare Malfoy tantrum. Normally he just turns pink and hexes someone."

"What did he mean mini version of Dumbledore?" Harry asked, but he already had a pretty good idea what Malfoy had been on about.

"That's right!" Hermione said. "Harry, we need to find you a mirror."

"What? It's that bad?"

"No!" Hermione said rather quickly. That only worried him even more, but when he looked into her eyes, he saw that she was sincere. "It's not bad at all, just different. For those of us who know how it used to look, it'll take some getting used to. Here," she said, opening the door marked HG. "there's got to be a mirror in my room." They walked in, and torches sprang to life.

The rooms were indeed large. While the dorms in Gryffindor had never been cramped by any means, Hermione's room was at least twice as big as the room Harry had shared with Ron, Dean, Seamus, and Neville, up in Gryffindor tower. Ron did a low whistle as they took in the surroundings. Malfoy's comments about five star treatments had been meant to irk McGonagall, but they hadn't been all that far from the truth.

A large crimson rug covered the bare stone floor and on top of it sat a four-poster bed, which Harry suspected was even larger than the one he was used to in Gryffindor. It had heavy, black velvet drapes with intricate gold embroidery. A wooden trunk sat at the foot of the bed and it no doubt held school supplies. A wardrobe stood next to a table with a couple chairs around it. Harry could already picture Hermione working on her homework there. The wall opposite of the bed had two, ten foot high windows. Through the moonlight, Harry could see the lake.

"We shouldn't be able to see the lake from here." Harry said with a frown.

"They're probably enchanted windows." Hermione said, looking inside the trunk. "All of them must be, because this dormitory should be surrounded by other parts of the castle." She continued to rummage in the trunk

"Looking for something in particular?" Ron asked. "Dumbledore didn't give you enough parchment for you to do your usual amount of overachieving?"

"Shut up Ron." She said, throwing him an exasperated glare. "I'm looking for a _mirror_ remember?" She walked over to the wardrobe and threw it open. "Ah ha!" One of the doors had a full length mirror on it." Harry approached it cautiously, almost afraid of what he was going to see. "Honestly Harry, it's not bad." Hermione said. Harry looked at himself, and indeed, she was right. He still looked like himself, but he wouldn't be called his father's twin. Dumbledore had gone for the biggest possible change he could make, short of giving Harry a lime green and pink mohawk.

His hair was now shoulder length and thick. It was also snow white like Dumbledore's. In the flickering torchlight, it took on an almost peralescent quality. He frowned at his reflection and Hermione got a worried look on her face.

"What's wrong? You don't like it? Because I was serious when I said it looked fine." She elbowed Ron and he chimed in.

"Yeah, it doesn't look bad."

"No, it's not that, it's just, I look a little to much like Malfoy for my taste."

"Oh," Hermione said thinking, "I suppose that's why he stormed off to bed so quickly."

"That and the fact that he hates us and we hate him." Ron said. "You weren't honestly expecting to have a nice little chat with him before we all went off to bed where you?"

"No, but..." she trailed off and then shook her head, "Well at least you and Malfoy don't look alike in any other respect. Plus, his hair's more of a platinum blond and yours is pure white."

"Ok, well this is more discussion on hair than I'd have ever thought I'd have in a lifetime." Harry said. "I think I'm going to try and get some sleep." Ron agreed and they both made their way to Hermione's door.

Hermione's room was next to Malfoy's, and Harry and Ron were on the other side of the hall. Harry was lucky enough to have his door be directly across the way from Malfoy.

He was sure none of them were really all that happy with the situation. Harry felt it was going to be a constant battle trying to keep Ron from going after Malfoy any time he was provoked. Harry knew he'd also have to watch himself. If anybody knew how to push his buttons, it was Malfoy.

Harry entered the room with a gold HP and found that it looked much like Hermione's. The windows were indeed enchanted because he had the same lakeside view. He stood there, mesmerized by the image. It was a full moon, and Harry was sure he could spot three creatures down by the edge of the lake. His breath caught as he realized one of them mimicked his Patronus. He had half a mind to follow them, his invisibility cloak was still with him, but he forced himself not to move to the door. He would be able to see his father tomorrow.

Harry drug himself over to the bed, he hadn't been lying to Hermione, he was exhausted and still sore from their trip back in time. He deposited the invisibility cloak into the trunk at the end of his bed, and then lay down without even bothering to change. Immediately, he drifted off to sleep, and this time, he dreamt that it was he who was falling through the veil.

Across the way, Draco Malfoy was pacing in his room. All he had been hoping for was to have Potter and Co. get what they deserved for sneaking around late at night. Now he was trapped twenty-three years in the past, and forced to live with them. Draco was already dreading the ridicule the Slytherins were likely to give them for being outsiders.

He supposed there was at least one up side to his situation. Potter was a nobody here. His scar was just that, a scar, not a billboard marking him as the only person to survive an attempt on his life from the Dark Lord.

The next week wasn't something he was looking forward to, and the possibility of being here even longer was unacceptable. It would be nauseating to have both Potters strutting around the school.

_"Perhaps they wouldn't like each other,"_ Malfoy thought with a grin. It would be entertaining to watch Harry be crushed by being disliked by his father. He sighed and headed for bed. Draco doubted he would get much sleep, he often couldn't when his mind was all worked up. He got into bed and drew the hangings around him. Malfoy closed his eyes, but sleep never came.

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Questions? Comments? I'll try to answer anything in my next chapter's A/N. 


	3. Introductions

Ok peeps, here's chapter 3. It's a bit shorter than the previous two, but still good in length I think. I'll have you all know however, that my Physics homework is getting quite mad at me for neglecting it, so I may have to limit myself to one post a week, so be ready to accept that pace as far as this story is concerned. For my reviews :) :

**mionedracoshipper **&** Ravens-Jade**: I'm so happy that you're enjoying so far. I hope that stays true through the rest of the story.

**Daunting Darkness**: Yes, I to enjoy Malfoy! Almost as much as Harry. I hope you enjoy him in this chapter, he gets a little more of a chance to shine.

Again with the disclamer, I don't own Harry Potter, please don't sue me, yada yada yada...

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Harry woke with a start in an unfamiliar bed. His hand immediately searched his robe to find his wand, then everything came back to him. He sat up and the world around him was fuzzy. Struggling to remember what he had done with his glasses, he found them tangled in the bedding, fortunately not bent or broken. 

Getting out of bed, he made his way over to the wardrobe and opened it. Again, he was confronted with his altered reflection. Harry wouldn't have thought it possible, but his hair behaved even less now. The side he had been laying on was now smooth and flay, but the other side stuck out and was tangled. He spotted a brush on a shelf in the wardrobe and started to drag it through his hair.

Harry grimaced as the bristles caught in the tangled strands, and a couple of minutes later he gave up, deciding the hair was as smooth and tangle free as it was going to get. He rummaged around for clothes and was glad that everything at least fit. He was at least free of the Dursley's hand-me-downs. With no idea what classes where ahead of him, Harry put only a quill, some ink, and paper into his bag. If he needed a book, he would simply look on with Ron. He headed for the common room, intent on seeing if any of the others were up yet.

Harry stepped out into the short hallway that bridged between the portrait hole and the common room. Sunlight streamed in through the windows in the common room, and he could see that there was only one person sitting in front of the fireplace. To his displeasure, Harry realized it was Malfoy. He was just about to turn and leave, but the Slytherin must have heard him.

"Running away are you?" Malfoy said. "What's the rest of the school going to think if my own schoolmates can't stand to be in the same room as me?"

"That you're an annoying prat, and no one can stand to be around you." Harry shot back.

"Temper, temper." Malfoy tisked.

"As if you should talk. We enjoyed your little tantrum last night."

"Answer me honestly Potter, how would you feel if our situations were reversed?" Harry didn't answer, but Malfoy must have decided that he had gotten the point. "Anyway, you should brace yourself for more of the same. I mean, how can anyone refrain from utilizing such an easy mark as Weasly?"

"If you would leave us alone, then we would probably be less likely to peg you as scum." Harry crossed his arms across his chest. "Of course I'm sure you'll make all sorts of Death Eater friends here."

"That's right, keep up the stereotypes." Harry gave him a questioning look, but before Malfoy clarified, Ron and Hermione came in. Ron instantly glared at Draco, but didn't say anything.

"Are we interrupting anything?" Hermione asked, clearly feeling the tension in the room.

"No," Draco said with a jaunty grin, "we were just having a nice little chat."

"I think we'd better head to breakfast." Harry said, before Draco could start anything else. The four of them made their way through the portrait hole and out into the school. Harry's heart was racing. At any moment, they could bump into his mother or father.

With their dormitory being so close to the Great Hall, it took them mere moments to get there. The whole experience was incredibly surreal to Harry. As they entered the throng of students, everything felt the same and yet different. The school hadn't changed, but except for Hermione, Ron, and Draco, there weren't any familiar faces.

The students, realizing they were strangers, quickly gave them wide berth and whispers were soon flying through the crowd. Harry was used to the feeling, but the others, even Malfoy, looked slightly uncomfortable at it. They spotted Professor McGonagall waiting at the doorway to the Great Hall, and they made her way over to her.

"Professor Dumbledore will have you eat with one of the houses." She said. "You're to wait here until he's ready for you." McGonagall headed into the hall, along with the steady stream of students.

"We're sitting with the Gryffindors." Ron said, his eyes darted to Malfoy, daring him to disagree with them.

"Are you kidding?" Malfoy said. "I already have to live with three of you. I don't want to share every meal with the whole house."

"Come on Malfoy, it's just to eat meals. It won't kill you." Hermione said.

"One could argue the same about eating with the Slytherins."

"I'm _not_ spending every breakfast, lunch, and dinner with Snape." Harry replied, irritably.

Malfoy's cheeks went slightly pink. "Is this how you treat everybody? The famous Potter and Friends always get their way?"

"As if you should talk, I've got two words for you. _Crabe_ and _Goyle_." Harry was so entrenched in his argument, that he didn't even notice his father, Sirius, Lupin, and Pettigrew enter the Great Hall. They, however, did notice the four new students.

"Who the heck is that?" Sirius said, elbowing James in the side.

James Potter fought back a yawn and shrugged. "Dunno, Dumbledore didn't say anything about visitors did he?"

"I don't think so. They don't look like a very happy lot do they?" Harry's back was to them, and he was animatedly arguing with Malfoy, his fist clenching his wand. Hermione was trying to stop the fight, and Ron was standing next to Harry, ready to fling himself at Malfoy.

"Well I suppose we'll find out about them at breakfast." Lupin said. He looked extremely worn, and had spent the morning after the full moon in the hospital wing.

The four Gryffindors were some of the last to filter into the Great Hall. Not long after they had sat down, McGonagall stepped outside and returned with the strangers.

Harry tried not to look like he was intently searching the crowd for anyone in particular, but after a casual glance over at the Gryffindor table, he spotted his father looking right back at him.

Ron elbowed him and whispered, "Harry, did you see your dad?"

"Yeah," he replied. He was also scanning for red hair and green eyes, his mother.

Hermione interrupted his concentration and he never finished scanning the whole table. "Look, there's Snape. His attention was diverted to the Slytherin table, and it didn't take long for Harry to spot him. He had seen a young Snape before, back in the Pensive. Snape's eyes were following them as they made their way to the head table, his expression hard to read. It was the first time he had ever looked at Harry without contempt.

They had now reached Dumbledore who was standing in front of the head table The students had gone quiet, and Dumbledore beamed at all of them. "I hope everybody's day is going well." He got a few nods, but it was clear they were more interested in the four strangers. "Right, I'd like to introduce to you Miss. Hermione Granger, and Mr.'s Draco Malfoy, Ron Weasly, and Harry Potter." Harry could see his father's eyes narrow slightly at the mention of his last name. "These students are visiting Hogwarts and will be attending classes with the sixth years. I'd like you all to give them a warm welcome, as they are now honorary Hogwarts students." He turned back towards the new students. "Well, I think I've sufficiently put you on the spot. If you'll have a seat, we can start breakfast."

As Harry, Ron, and Hermione made their way to the Gryffindor table, Harry wondered if Draco would make a scene in front of the whole school. To his relief, Malfoy followed, although somewhat reluctantly. They sat at the middle of the table, and Hermione smiled somewhat weakly at a boy with curly brown hair sitting next to her. Malfoy sat on her other side, and across from Harry and Ron. He crossed his arms across his chest and took to glaring at Harry.

"Well Malfoy, its no wonder the girls love you. You always make the most attractive expressions." Hermione said.

"Well Granger, I never knew you cared." He batted his eyelashes at her and flashed a very plastic, Gilderoy Lockhart sort of smile. Harry sighed as he felt Ron tense next to him. "Are you going to make yourself a right little scene here?" Malfoy said, looking at Ron.

Ron flushed red enough that it was difficult to tell his face apart from his hair. "Yeah, that's right. I thought I'd climb up on the table and shove your face right into the eggs." He ground out through clenched teeth. Harry was surprised that Ron was showing restraint, or at least what could be considered restraint when it came to Malfoy taunting him.

"Wonderful Weasly, keep giving me hallow threats." Malfoy's eyes took on a malicious twinkle.

"Um, excuse me." A female voice interrupted. They all diverted their attention to her and Harry almost choked on his surprise. His mother, Lily, had sat next to Ron and she seemed to be intent on introducing herself. "My name's Lily Evans. I'm one of the Gryffindor prefects." They all just stared at her, slack jawed. Even Malfoy seemed stunned. Lily looked uncomfortable at their looks, when finally Hermione got her wits about her.

"Hi, I'm Hermione." She said, extending a hand across the table. Lily seemed to relax a little.

"It's good to meet you. This is kind of unusual for Hogwarts to have four students visiting, I mean with it not being a tournament year or anything."

"Yes I know." Draco gushed. "We're just full of all sorts of surprises, aren't we Harry?"

Lily's gaze fell to Harry, and he wished that he could hex Malfoy half the way across the Great Hall. "You know, you look really familiar to me." She said, scrutinizing Harry. "What's your last name again?"

"Potter." He said, trying to look as if he had no idea what she was getting at.

"You aren't related to James are you?"

"Who?" He forced a puzzled expression onto his face.

"James Potter." she replied. "He's another Gryffindor sixth year, he's down there. Guy with the messy black hair and wears glasses." She gestured down the table and Harry got an excuse to take a good look at his father. James must have felt that eyes were on him, because he had been in conversation with Sirius when he suddenly looked down the table at them. James' eyes narrowed slightly and Harry turned away.

"I doubt it." Harry said. "None of my living family has been to Hogwarts."

"Maybe he's your long lost cousin or something." Malfoy seemed to enjoy watching Harry's predicament.

"Maybe." Harry replied, giving him a warning look.

"So what school are you from?" Lily asked.

"Um, it's kind of far away, you probably haven't heard of it." Ron said. Harry could tell that he was trying to think of a way to divert the conversation.

"So, what's with the different houses?" Hermione interrupted. "I mean, I've heard of them but I've never gotten a first hand introduction."

Lily frowned at her for diverting the question, but answered anyway. "Well, Hogwarts has four houses that students are part of. They're Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin." She looked at Hermione with a frown. "Dumbledore didn't tell you about this already?"

"He might have mentioned it." Harry cut in. One of Lily's friends interrupted with a question and Harry found himself breathing a sigh of relief.

"Smooth one Granger." Malfoy said. "Way to not make anyone suspicious."

"I didn't hear you coming up with any better ideas." She shot back. "But if we're going to talk about not drawing unwanted attention to ourselves, then I would suggest we all try to stop fighting amongst ourselves."

"It's you three who seem to have problems with me." Malfoy said, trying to give them an innocent look.

"You're saying you've never gone out of your way to try and annoy one of us?" Harry asked skeptically.

"You think I spend my time trying to annoy you?" Malfoy said. "I'm hurt, really I am. You all think my life centers around three pitiful Gryffindors. I'd have to shoot myself in the eye with a crossbow if I was that pathetic."

"I don't really think this is a good place for this discussion." Ron said, glancing around nervously.

Harry noticed that his father and friends seemed to be paying close attention to them. He was suddenly reminded of Fred and George's extendable ears and how many times they had been compared to the Marauders. "Ron's right, we should talk about this later tonight."

"Wonderful, I just can't wait." Draco crooned.

"Shut up Malfoy." They all said in unison.

"What do you think the deal is with the new blood?" Sirius asked.

"Dunno." James said. "Pretty weird for new students to show up when we're a month into classes already. Especially since they're from another school.

Remus Lupin was nodding in agreement. "And what about that Potter?" he turned to James. "He's not your cousin or anything is he?"

"I don't think so, but my dad's got a brother that he hasn't talked to in a really long time." He shrugged. "I suppose it's possible."

"He does kind of look like you." Sirius observed.

"Except I haven't got white hair."

"Maybe he hits the bottle." Sirius continued.

"What's drinking got to do with turning your hair white?" Peter Pettigrew had looked up between bites of food.

"That's not what kind of bottle I meant." Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "I mean potions that bleach hair."

"Potter, Weasly, Malfoy... those are all well known wizarding families, but I've never heard the last name Granger before." James continued to watch them, Lily Evans had been talking to them, and he felt a slight twinge of envy. It was about impossible to get her to have a conversation with him.

"You're not turning into an elitist on me are you?" Remus asked, studying him closely.

"No, of course not." James replied, "but if she's muggle borne, that would rule out a fair share of schools in Britain."

"Well, perhaps we should ask them." Sirius said. "If they're eating with the Gryffindors, then McGonagall's likely to stick them in our classes also."

Half an hour later found the Gryffindors making their way to Defense Against the Dark Arts, along with the four new students. Harry sat in the very last row, wanting to be able to observe the students around him. Ron sat to his right, and Hermione on his left, Malfoy on her other side. However, to his surprise, James plopped down next to Ron, Sirius along with him. Remus and Peter sat next to Malfoy.

James leaned forward, addressing the four of them. "I didn't get a chance to introduce myself back in the Great Hall," he said, "my name's James Potter." The other three introduced themselves as well, and he continued. "Couldn't help but notice your last name's Potter." He gave Harry an appraising look. "I was wondering if maybe we're related."

"Not that I'm aware of." Harry replied. He was shocked as he realized his voice was laced with a cold detachment. He was finally meeting his father, and yet he couldn't get the vision from the Pensive out of his mind. As much as Harry loathed Snape, what his father had done had been so wrong. The disgust on his mother's face was clouding his eyes.

"Well, who are your parents? I have an uncle that we lost touch with a while ago, maybe it's the same person."

"I'd rather not talk about my parents." Harry's mouth was dry as cotton, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see Malfoy watching him, a slight smirk on his lips.

"What, they can't be any worse than mine." Sirius said, almost lazily as he lounged in his chair.

"No, they're dead." He said rather bluntly.

"Your parents are dead?" Remus cut in. "I'm sorry, that's awful."

Malfoy was getting annoyed at the Q and A. "Yes, yes. Terrible tragedy, but if we don't quit now, what's to stop Potter from going into the whole tragic story. He's already impressed it on everyone from back home." Hermione elbowed him sharply in the ribs. "Ouch! What was that for you filthy mud-"He didn't finish the comment before Harry's wand was in his face.

"Finish that Malfoy, and you'll wish you hadn't." Everybody had suddenly stopped what they were doing and their attention was fixed on what was happening at the back of the classroom.

"What are you going to do Potter?"

"Are you worried?"

"Why should I be?" He shot back, eyes flashing.

"I think your father could provide you with a good reason."

Draco's cheeks flushed and he was reaching for his wand when Hermione's voice cut in.

"Stop it, the professor's coming." They continued to glare at each other, but finally, Harry lowered his wand and Draco placed both his hands on the desktop. "This is going to be a long week." She said with a sigh.

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Ha! End of the chapter! Next time'll be a little bit of the DAtDA lesson as well as much much more. Please do R&R, it get's me inspired so much faster ;) hint hint... 


	4. A Grudgingly Made Agreement

Right, here's Chapter 4. Hope you enjoy. Also here's the _**disclaimer**_; I don't own Harry Potter and co. They belong to the wonderful JKR. I'm just borrowing them for non profit purposes, yada yada yada...

Also, I'd like to acknowledge a couple of passing comments that are made in this chapter. They were inspired by a couple of other stories here at fanfiction. The first is from MystyKitty's _The Power of Dance_. The second is from GNess' _Muggle Movies 02: The Chamber._ I'll bold them so you know what I'm talking about. Just giving credit where credit's deserved.

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As Hermione had warned, they could hear the clicking of the professor's approaching footsteps. Seconds later, a middle aged witch entered. She had long, curly, caramel-colored hair that she had tried to restrain with some hair pins. It seemed, however, that the hair was winning the war. The professor wore sea-foam green robes and high healed boots that clicked loudly when she walked. They reminded Harry of muggle tap shoes. She beamed at the four new students and introduced herself. 

"Hello, my name's Professor Wilkins," she beamed at the four new students, "and as I'm sure you've guessed, I'm the Defense Against the Dark Arts master here at Hogwarts." They all nodded in acknowledgment and she clapped her hands together in excitement. "Well, Dumbledore introduced you to us all this morning, but we don't know a thing about you." She gave them an eager sort of smile and Hermione laughed shortly. "So, who's going first?" None of them said anything, Ron was studying his hands, clearly hoping that if he didn't make eye contact with her, she wouldn't notice him. Draco was absentmindedly twirling his wand in his finger tips, and Hermione had an uncharacteristically blank look on her face.

"Well you know, there's really noting to tell. At least, nothing that I can think of How about you guys?" The three boys all nodded in agreement.

"I think then, we'll have the class ask you some questions, but I will say that I was prepared to let you off easy. Now you're at the mercy of the class." She winked at them.

"Damn, she's not letting us out of this is she?" Ron grumbled. It was more of a statement than a question.

"How about you come up here," She said, gesturing to the front of the room. Malfoy got to his feet first and was followed by Hermione. Ron and Harry trudged along grudgingly and Malfoy feigned surprise.

"What, the famous Potter's not in a hurry to be the center of attention?"

"Are you jealous? You're welcome to it anytime." Harry turned toward the class and threw out his arms. "_Come one come all. Witness the wonder that _is_ Draco Malfoy!_"

Draco looked at him suspiciously. "What was that for?"

"Alright boys, calm down." Wilkins said, before Harry had a chance to reply. "How about we have a question for each of them and then two for the group?"

Harry didn't suppose that was so bad, but he wished that they had decided on a cover story earlier.

"Let's start with Miss... Granger is it?" Hermione nodded and the professor continued. "Who has a question for her?" Several hands shot up, including Sirius'. "Mr. Black, what's your question?"

Sirius leaned forward on his elbow, eyed the three boys, then gave her a devilish grin. "So which of them's your boyfriend?"

Harry flushed slightly and shifted on his feet, Draco was watching her closely with a slight smirk and Ron had broken out into a fit of coughs. Hermione, however, was blushing so intensely that it would have put a Weasly to shame.

"That's for me to know, and you to find out." She said, trying to cover her embarrassment.

"I'll get right on that." Sirius replied, smiling even wider.

"I see you went straight for the personal questions." Wilkins said. "How about we get a question for Mr. Weasly." Ron looked a little queasy, and Harry supposed he was hoping not to get as personal of a question as Hermione's.

"Relax Weasly, I doubt anyone's going to ask if you're a boxer or a briefs kind of guy." Ron glared at Malfoy, and half the girls in the class broke into giggles.

"How about we hear from you Mr. Pinkelman." Wilkins said, choosing to ignore Draco's comment.

A tall, muscularly built boy dropped his hand and asked, "What's your favorite Quidditch team?"

Ron relaxed at the mildness of the inquiry and actually smiled. "That's easy, I've been a Chudley Cannons fan for as long as I can remember." Pinkelman gave him a blank look at the reply.

Hermione was mouthing something to Ron that looked like _'they don't exist yet!'_

"Oh, right!" Ron said hurriedly. "They're kind of a local favorite. Uh, Ireland's good." he finished somewhat lamely, but Pinkelman seemed to approve and began nodding in agreement.

"Good question, thank you. Let's see, Mr. Potter's next, a question for him please." Nobody raised their hand for a few seconds. It was clear that they had a question in mind, but no one was willing to ask it. Finally, James' hand went up.

"Yes, Mr. Potter?"

"How did you get your scar?"

Ron and Hermione were fidgeting next to Harry and all sorts of replies were flying through his head, some more truthful than others. Could he get away with telling a partial truth? Did he want to?

"Uh Potter, the American's have a saying. The cattle are growing restless." Malfoy said, after Harry had been quiet for a full minute. Harry's eyes refocused and he realized everyone was staring at him. It was then that it hit him. He was sick of the doom and gloom. In this place, he was safe from Voldermort. For the first time since he had started school at Hogwarts, his only worry could be to make sure Ron didn't attack Draco for another one of his asinine comments. Even if they would only be here for a week, it could be a week long vacation.

A smile replaced the grim look that had settled in on his features over the past months. "Funny story actually." Harry began. "We were sneaking out of school last year You see, Hermione had heard about this club in Tokyo and that was supposed to be 'wicked', I think is the word muggles use. **She and Draco used to have this thing for dance clubs**, and Ron and I certainly couldn't turn down a trip to Japan." Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ron and Hermione giving him a funny look. "Anyway, to make a long story short, we ended up getting in a knife fight with a rabid hamster in an alley. The result being this." He lifted back his fringe to display his scar.

The room was again plunged into silence, but this time, everyone was looking at him with jaws dropped. "Uh... seriously?" A girl towards the front asked.

"What, you don't believe me?" Harry asked, feigning a hurt expression. "Would you find , _'there's a homicidal wizard out to kill me and my scar's a result of his failed attempt at avada kedavra' _to be a more likely story?" A couple people chuckled and most people were smiling now.

Alright, well lets get a question for Mr. Malfoy then." Wilkins said with a tight smile. A hand belonging to a rather pretty girl with pig tails shot up. She did the action so fast, that her roll of parchment and quill were sent flying to the floor as she knocked her elbow on the edge of the desktop. Wilkins seemed so taken aback by her promptness that she called on her. "Yes, Miss Cook."

"So which is it then, boxers or briefs?"

Malfoy snickered. "Well, to quote Granger, that's for me to know, and you to find out."

"**Why I do believe that had sexual undertones in it**." Sirius said, feigning shock.

"That's quite enough." Professor Wilkins said from the back of the class. "Let's keep these next two questions PG if you would please." Hands shot up for the fifth time. "Lily Evans, I think I can count on you to keep us on track."

"I'd like to ask what school you're from." Lily said. It seemed, Harry thought, that she wasn't going to let them off the hook so easily.

"Well, it's kind of far away. You probably haven't ever heard of it." Hermione said and Draco groaned.

"Yeah, I kind of gathered that the first time." Lily said wryly.

"It's kind of like Hogwarts in that it's unplotable." Harry said, "Even the students aren't sure where it's located."

"We're on a mission." Malfoy cut in dramatically. "So we're not really at the liberty to discuss it with you." He wagged a single eyebrow at her.

Lily was still annoyed that they were evading the question, but it appeared they weren't likely to tell, and Professor Wilkins didn't seem like she was out for truthful answers.

"Ok, final question." The defense professor said.

"Why did you come to Hogwarts?" A sort boy towards the back asked, after he had been called on.

"We have something that we need Professor Dumbledore's help with." Hermione said.

"But why are you attending classes?" The same boy continued.

"My thoughts exactly." Ron grumbled.

"I personally couldn't imagine being at Hogwarts and not learning something." Hermione said in a tone that was very reminiscent of her during their first year.

"That's an admirable philosiphy." Wilkins said. "Alright, that's enough personal questions for now. I'm sure everyone will find plenty of time to fit more in over the next few days. Let's get on with the lesson."

They made their way back to their seats and Wilkins started talking about a set of curses that had been created specifically to jumble speech, thus making it difficult for the wizard to properly voice a spell.

Hermione had already pulled out a roll of parchment and quill, and was scribbling away. Harry smiled to himself. He would have never expected any different from her, but it was still amusing that she never passed up a chance for note taking.

"Can anyone tell me what's the most important element for successfully creating a tongue tying curse?" Hermione's hand shot up along with some others, including James, Remus, and Sirius.

"Precise enunciation." Hermione said when Wilkins called on her.

"Indeed," The professor acknowledged. "To properly disrupt someone's speech patterns, you yourself must be completely clear in your intent."

"Looks like we've got some competition." Harry heard Sirius whisper to James. James didn't look up, but he nodded in agreement.

"I'd give you points," Wilkins was saying, "but you don't really have a house to award them to."

"Professor, you could give them to Gryffindor." Sirius said.

"Yes Mr. Black, I'm sure you would enjoy that." Wilkins said with a laugh. "But I'm afraid you're going to have to earn points the old fashioned way."

"Well, it was worth a try."

The class continued much in that manner, and Harry started tapping his wand against the desk top in boredom. Wilkins seemed to be one of those professors that preferred lecture to a more 'hands on' approach. It certainly wasn't Harry's worst Defense Against the Dark Arts class, he would leave that honor to Umbridge, but he had defiantly experienced better.

He looked over at Remus Lupin. The boy was busy taking notes, but Harry could tell that he wasn't all that enthusiastic about it. Harry wondered if this wasn't the reason Lupin had given them such good lessons in that, remembering these classes, he strove to make his more interactive.

"Alright, quiz time." Wilkins said, snapping everyone except Hermione out of a stupor. "Let's see what you've all learned. Besides, I'd like our new students to show us what they can do. Everybody partner up." The class groaned and started to half-heartedly search out partners.

"I'll partner with Malfoy." Harry said to Hermione and Ron.

"Oh, do I feel loved." Draco said sarcastically.

"Everybody stand up and face your partner, wands out." Wilkins instructed.

"Do you think we're dueling?" Ron asked.

"If we are, I'm sure Granger's thanking her lucky stars that you don't still have that broken wand of yours." Malfoy said. "How about you Potter, fancy a duel?"

"Well lets see, the first time you challenged me, you never showed up. The second time, you conjured that snake and Lockhart managed to sick it on Justin Finch Fletchy."

"What, you wouldn't care to have them all find out you're a parceltongue? If I remember correctly, most of the school was terrified of you that year."

"And would that include you?" Harry asked, giving Draco an amused look.

"In your dreams Potter. Anybody with any sense would have realized you were about as likely to be Slytherin's heir as Granger here."

"Alright class, we're going to be dueling. Please refrain from anything that will injure your partner. Points for those who can properly use a tongue tying curse."

Harry and Draco faced each other, wands out, but neither seemed willing to bow to the other. Meanwhile, Hermione had managed to use the curse on her first try and Ron was babbeling incoherently. Most of the class had reached the climax of their duel, in one manner or another. A handful of people had properly done the curse, others were nursing the ill effects of other spells. Harry and Draco, however, were still in their stand off.

"Bow Potter, it's the proper thing to do."

"And I'm sure you wouldn't curse me while I was doing it." Harry said sarcastically.

"No, because I'll be bowing as well." Draco replied, "Though I don't see why I should. You certainly don't deserve it."

"Would both of you just get on with it." Hermione said. "You're making a scene."

Harry grudgingly tipped his head forward, as did Malfoy. They were more nods really, than bows. As soon as their heads snapped back up, Draco yelled, "Expelliarmus!"

Harry blocked it and attempted to use the tongue tying curse, but he must have mispronounced because nothing happened. Draco smirked and was about to try another curse when Harry got an idea. Pointing his wand at Draco's foot, he said "Accio shoe!" Draco's boot was suddenly tugged off, knocking him off balance. He teetered for a second, then fell backwards on the floor.

"_Brilliant_. Thanks so much." Malfoy said, wincing as he got to his feet. "That's twice you've caused me to land on my ass in twenty-four hours. My back is killing me." Class had ended, and students were starting to filter out. Harry handed Draco his boot, and he took it without comment.

"Maybe you should have joined DA instead of trying to rat us out to Umbridge." Ron suggested.

"Didn't seem to make much of a difference in your case." Draco snapped back. "I see Granger made quick work of you." Draco stormed out of the classroom in a billow of robes.

"What is it with him being so dramatic all the time?" Ron grumbled. "You'd think he'd spontaneously combust if he stopped acting like a git for more than five seconds."

Harry didn't know what to suggest. It was doubtful that there could be any form of civility between them, not after what had happened last June. Harry's blood still boiled when he thought of the Inquisitorial Squad capturing his friends and turning them in to Umbridge. Malfoy himself had been the ring leader of that little operation.

"Malfoy's the last thing I want to think about right now." Harry said. "Accident or not, I'm taking this trip as a vacation. For once, I can be sure Voldermort's not out to get me, and when I'm here, I'm not the famous Harry Potter. I just want a normal week."

"You may want that Harry, but I don't know if Malfoy's going to let you get it." Hermione said as they made their way through the school. She sighed heavily. "I don't know if I can take so much arguing and fighting with him. It's starting to get on my nerves."

Up ahead, they could see a pack of students that had assembled around someone. Most of them were girls, standing on their tip toes to try and get a better look. As the three of them drew closer, they could hear Malfoy's voice carrying over the crowd.

"That's right, it's a special school run by Dumbledore. He spends most of his time at Hogwarts, but he pops over to our school a couple times a day."

"But if it's a school run by Dumbledore, then why don't you just come to Hogwarts? Why is he running two separate schools?" Someone was asking.

"Some of the things we learn there are a little different than here."

"Malfoy, what are you doing?" Harry asked, the crowd's attention shifted to him.

"Just telling everyone a little about our school." Draco said with a shrug. "They wanted to know, so who was I to keep it from them?"

"Professor McGonagall wanted us to check in with her." Hermione said. "We shouldn't keep her waiting."

"Granger, if you wanted to go off and snog, you should just say so. There's no reason to make up excuses."

"You can keep your fantasies to yourself." Hermione growled back, firmly grasping the sleeve of Ron's robe as he tried to lunge after Malfoy.

"Ouch, such an Ice Queen." Draco said, hugging his shoulders and shivering.

"Right, well we're going to see Professor McGonagall. When you've finished with your bandstanding, you know where to find us." Hermione stalked down the corridor, Ron and Harry following. Once they had rounded a corner, she stopped dead in the middle of the hall, causing them to crash into her. "How dare he!" she began. "Why has that stupid ass decided to make such a sport out of tormenting us?"

"Because you're such easy targets." Malfoy had evidently left his admirers and caught up with them.

"Hermione's right Malfoy." Harry said. "You said that you would have to shoot yourself if you were pathetic enough to have your life revolve around tormenting us, but you're constantly picking fights with us."

"Let's just call it family instinct." Draco said. "Besides, on this occasion, what else am I supposed to do? It happens to be the Golden Gryffindor Trio, versus the Lone Slytherin. No one's here to support me, so I might as well go on the offense."

"That doesn't mean you have to make up for it by being three times worse than normal." Hermione said.

"Says who Granger? What makes you think I would ever adhere to your set of morals?"

"Listen, we've got to make it through this week and then that's it. Things don't have to be any different once we get back. In fact, I'd prefer they weren't, but for the time being, can we at least _act_ like we're not mortal enemies?" Hermione asked. Everyone sort of grimaced and shifted on their feet, but no one said anything. "It's like I was saying earlier, a week of fighting will get really old."

Ron nodded slowly. "I'll try." Harry agreed.

Draco was frowning as if he had a bad taste in his mouth. "I won't make any guarantees, but I'll try also." He finally ground out.

Hermione glanced at her watch and emitted a squeak. "We were supposed to meet Professor McGonagall five minutes ago."

They took off down the corridor, tension still lingering between them, but for once, no one had an insult, snide remark or retort on the tip of their tongue.


End file.
